"Chokoloskee Island is smack-dab in the middle of a kayak fisherman’s nirvana -- the western edge of Everglades National Park. Look on a map and you will see literally 10,000 islands surrounded by mangroves, mudflats, oyster bars, sandy beaches, and a rich marine nursery that is home to an amazingly diverse fishery -- trout, redfish, snook, tarpon, and cobia abound." MSNBC picked up this story about top places to kayak and fish from CanoeKayak.com. Everglades National Park, the Potomac River, Puget Sound, Washington and Georgian Bay, Ontario are featured.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From reeling in what were probably Biscayne Bay's first fly-caught bonefish and tarpon to a landing a 690-pound giant bluefin tuna at Canada's Prince Edward Island in 1970, Jim Hardie lived the life he wrote about. And if you lived in Florida in the seventies, eighties or nineties and read about fishing, you read what Jim Hardie wrote. Hardie was found dead of natural causes in his home yesterday.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Moc Morgan raises an interesting question for fly tiers: Do fish spit out flies with wire or hard fiber bodies faster than they do soft flies? Morgan, who brings the belief from watching trout spit out matchsticks as a boy, says there is no doubt. On ICWales.co.uk.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The closest many of us have ever come to trout fishing in the "deep south" was watching Burt Reynolds break his coccyx and develop hillbilly paranoia while canoeing down James Dickey's fictional Cahulawassee River. But accidental visitors are more likely to be surprised by the fabulous fly fishing for both small-stream brookies and spring creek bruisers at the southern end of the Appalachians. Western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, especially, provide constant variety and terrific fishing, especially in winter.

This week James Buice takes us on a tour of the winter-blues-shaking options -- including big rivers, tailwaters and tiny off-the-map creeks -- that are part of fly fishing the southern Appalachians.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is considering various proposals to change the rule which prohibits the snagging of sockeye salmon in any part of the body other than the mouth. Some say snagging is snagging. Others, like emergency room doctors, are wondering what they will do with all of the free time on their hands. "All summer the emergency room doctors at Central Peninsula General Hospital stick the fishhooks they remove from people's bodies into foam dummies dressed like anglers. At summer's end they usually have a collection of about 200, mostly of artificial flies intended for sockeye salmon." Brandon Loomis in the Anchorage Daily News.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Author George Black (Casting a Spell, The Trout Pool Paradox), writes about the dangers that the Chilean obsession with growth present to the nation's rivers. His commentary is wrapped around a profile of Doug Tompkins, who walked away from his clothing company Esprit with $150 million and later married the CEO of Patagonia, Kris McDivitt, and who now is one of Chile's chief environmental activists. It's an overall excellent review of the history of Chilean attitudes toward their natural resources and a reminder that in a few places of the world there is still time to do things differently.

"The country's largest energy utility, Endesa, recently announced plans to build four giant dams in Chilean Patagonia, a pair on each of the region's two biggest rivers, the Baker and the Pascua. A heterodox coalition of local residents, environmentalists, energy experts, business leaders, and wealthy landowners (including both Chileans and foreigners such as Doug Tompkins) has already taken shape to oppose the dams, and a great deal rides on the outcome." On the OnEarth Web site.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tongariro River Hydro Pool angler Harvey Clark slams the rainbows with a "wee wet," which can best be described as any dry pattern tied with softer, shorter wings so that it can be fished wet. "I set up a light No 4 rod and tied on a large dry fly - an elk-hair caddis - mainly to use as a strikemarker and tied two wee wets on 5lb fluorocarbon 20cm apart 20cm behind the dry. The hits started within a few casts and they hardly stopped, 95 per cent on the wee wets. Only tiddlers took the caddis off the surface." In the New Zealand Herald.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Greedy out-of-state developers were given their walking papers by the Montana state Supreme Court this week when judges ruled that they used fraudulent methods to try and force through an initiative that would have given property owners the power to demand payment if they claimed government action devalued their property. In effect, this would have made environmental and zoning laws ineffective and removed public access to trout streams. Unfortunately, the same group of developers are spending millions of dollars in 5 other Western states to create the same loopholes in conservation and access laws.

"For now, the court's ruling closes the book on a bitter political battle that spanned 10 months and consumed more than $2 million in spending by both sides. Opponents of the measures, led by labor unions, consumer groups, hospitals, environmental groups and others, hailed Thursday's ruling as a victory for the initiative process and the residents of the state." Mike Dennison in The Billings Gazette. (Thanks to reader Luca Adelphia for this story.)

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anyone would be hard pressed to come up with the difference between "amenity ranchers" and part-time ranchers, both of which a new study includes in the non-traditional owner category, but there's little question that the growth of non-ranching buyers of large pieces of Western U.S. land have changed the ethos of land use. For one thing, as anyone who has fished the Rockies in the past few decades can tell you, access is more limited. The "I got mine" syndrome that accompanies a 1000% rise in land prices makes all this possible of course. But there is a silver lining, of sorts: greater interest in wildlife protection and land consolidation. An interesting article about the research recently completed by Oregon State University, the University of Colorado and the University of Otago in New Zealand, tells the story.

"'As long as the place looks nice, the owner is happy,' is something [assistant professor Hannah] Gosnell says she often heard from managers. 'One owner wanted his cattle kept from grazing near the main drive into the ranch because he thought they were unsightly.'" In the Corvallis, Oregon Central Valley BusinessTimes.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Simms joined other fly-fishing industry representatives and conservation groups at a recent workshop held by U.S. Fish and Wildlife to address concerns about aquatic nuisance species (ANS) in the Greater Yellowstone Area. It's all part of an effort to raise public awareness of about the issue, which according to a recent press release may cost more than $100 billion per year. For more information about aquatic nuisance species issues, visit www.ProtectYourWaters.net.

Read the extended entry for the full press release.

Fly-Fishing Industry, Government Agencies Join Forces to Address the Increasing Threat of Aquatic Invasive Species

Public Awareness and Education Emerge as Top Priorities

October 18, 2006 (Bozeman, Mont.) – In an unusual fashion, representatives from the fly-fishing industry, government agencies and conservation organizations recently coalesced to address the mounting threat of aquatic nuisance species (ANS) in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). While ANS management programs have evolved at the government level, this is the first time the fly-fishing business community, including Simms Fishing Products, Patagonia and other diverse stakeholders, formally gathered at the same table to tackle the issue.

Aquatic invasive species, which can be plants, animals or microbes, create nuisance situations in natural environments and typically do not have any natural predators or natural limitations to keep their populations in check. Once established, invasives can quickly and quietly devastate fisheries, lakes and rivers and put tremendous economic burden on local (and national) economies. In fact, the cost of invasive species (terrestrial and aquatic) in the United States currently amounts to more than $100 billion each year (http://protectyourwaters.net/). In spite of federal, state and local programs to address the broad and growing threat of ANS, public awareness and education is still waning.

Water recreation enthusiasts inadvertently spread aquatic invasive species by moving from one “infected” body of water to another without cleaning their gear. Simply by adopting some basic behavior changes, namely washing fishing/boating gear and equipment before going from one body of water to another, we can significantly limit the spread of invasive species.

Leveraging the diverse marketing and communication channels of fly-fishing industry leaders, participants in the recent US Fish and Wildlife Service-sponsored workshop committed to work together on a regional basis in an aggressive awareness campaign to educate the public about ANS and to encourage behaviors that help prevent the spread.

To learn more about aquatic invasive species and how you can help stop the spread, please visit http://www.protectyourwaters.net/.

Whitney McDowell
Simms Fishing Products
wmcdowell@simmsfishing.com
406-585-3557

For more information contact:
Fred Brooks, Backbone Media LLC fred@backbonemedia.net
970-963-4873

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For a bit of insight about how outdoors clothing marketers conceptualize your buying habits, check out this article about how the hunting and fishing lifestyle sells "clothes with talking points" to non-outdoorsmen. L.L. Bean's Teufel "says he always looks to see who's wearing the imitations of Bean's classic brown cotton duck field coat, and who has on the original Upland Field Coat, which features a 'blood proof game pouch' inside. Some people can spot the difference, and that matters to some customers, he says." Abe Aamidor on Indystar.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"'Those were Maccaffertiums over the riffles this evening,' he lectured this would-be impressor as he pulled the specimens he’d collected out of that jar, 'and you said you were using an Isonychia. No wonder you didn’t do well.'" John Street describes how a journey through elitism led to betraying a favorite stream, resisting the temptations of fame, and finally foreswearing Latin forever. In the Clarion (Pennsylvania) News.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

After dispensing sage advice on hook removal techniques and barbless hooks, Casey Allen tells one of the funniest anecdotes I've ever read about hooking oneself -- while suffering the after effects of a bar fight. "The doctor did not say much. He selected a big needle and eventually numbed my chin. He then returned with the biggest forceps I have seen and clamped down on the hook. He pulled until it felt like my chin stretched to my knees." In California's Times-Standard.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"I didn't like fly fishing then and I still don't like it." That's what Carl Walters, inveterate bobber fisherman and teacher at both the University of Florida and at University of British Columbia, Vancouver, says about what led him to his fascination with studying fish and his receiving a $70,000 Volvo Environment Prize for his work in fisheries science. "'Nothing is more exciting to me than to see that bobber go down,' Walters said." Karen Voyles on Gainesville.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

They don't jump and they shake their heads like a freshwater jack, but for some folks they qualify as a memorable gamefish. "We wanted to catch enough fish to wake up sore-armed the next morning. In short, we needed whitefish. If a few trout happened to weigh in as collateral damage, then all the better." Charlie Meyers in the Denver Post.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 5:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tampa, Florida's Obsessive Products Inc. has introduced a way of protecting the neck from sun without resorting to French Foreign Legion style neck drapes. The ReVisor is a modular brim that fits over a standard baseball cap and weighs only 2.6 ounces. "Designed to add sun protection to one’s ears and neck while wearing a ball cap, the ReVisor® gives anglers an alternative to the traditional drape or guide hat by offering UPF 50+ protection." More info on the OPI Web site.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ken Cox, a biologist with the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, noted that the public comment period for plans to stock the Batten Kill with rainbow trout, which ended Saturday, resulted in overwhelming opposition. "'I have a binder of feedback that's about 1.5 to 2 inches thick, and I'm in the process of going through it now,' Cox said. 'I would say, as a general characterization of the input, the public is overwhelmingly in opposition to the plan to stock the river and in favor of going the route of improving the fish habitats.'" Mike Gleason in the Bennington Banner.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This article about the rapid spread of carp in the U.S.'s Mississippi River basin is notable mostly for the truism stated in its first paragraphs: "'I've never seen a (commercial) fisherman who can't clear out a body of water," said Jim Malone, whose father was an early importer of the filter-feeding bighead and silver carp that have infested waterways across the heart of the continent. 'If you put a price tag on it, they can fish out just about anything.'" Dan Egan of the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

If you plan on being anywhere near Brooklyn, New York this coming Thursday (October 26) you might want to check out the live music and barbeque offered at the Brooklyn Brewery by Trout Unlimited, Patagonia, Urban Angler and The Drake Magazine. There will be videos from The Drake's 2006 Five Minutes of Fly Fishing Film contest, casting demonstrations, and a raffle and silent auction for fishing trips and gear, which means that you can give money to a good cause and get more than a Thank You in the mail for your $75 contribution (sticky fingers, for example). This is one of those times that I do indeed wish I lived in New York.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"The rod caught under the dock. I moved to the right, twisting a bit to reach the rod and free it. Dietrich continued to paddle when the tow line apparently jogged, overturning the kayak to the left, dumping me face first into the 62-degree ocean." The author of this piece in the Worcester, Massachusetts Telegram discovers that nothing is as simple as it seems, especially when kayaking in 20-mile-per-hour winds.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Corrigan closes the New England trout season by kayak fishing Profile Lake and testing his grandfather's advice to always attend a play on closing night. "I suspected it was too cold for insect hatches, and the surface was so choppy that rises would not be visible. Because the kayak's cockpit is roughly in the middle between bow and stern, it's impossible to get in the boat without stepping into the water. I use water shoes similar to running footwear, but at that point I wished I was wearing the warmer neoprene booties I use when scuba diving." In the Concord, New Hampshire Monitor.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eye protection is a must when fly fishing -- even if you are not the one doing the casting -- as angler Gary Hays will no doubt attest. Gary sports a booby fly in his right eyelid in this photo on UKFlyFisher.co.uk.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Orvis, conservation groups and fly fishing purists are trying to discourage the state of Vermont from stocking the Batten Kill with sterile rainbow trout (see Public and Corporate Opinion Reverses Batten Kill Stocking Plans; note: the stocking plan hasn't actually been dropped, despite the Boston Globe's reportage). Others say that when the river fished best for fly fishers, the river was heavily stocked. And some bemoan the loss of fishing for the "common man."

It's not a problem that is easily solved. "Vermont Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Wayne LaRoche is expected to decide sometime early next year whether to go ahead with the stocking plan, which is part of a broader plan to restore habitat on the river. The goal of the stocking is to put some fish in the river that people can catch while the wild and native populations rebound on their own. State officials know that no matter what they decide, people will be upset." Article by Wilson Ring of the Associated Press.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

In the U.K. Independent, Keith Elliott writes about the growing interest among fly fishers in once-outcast fish species: pike, catfish, bream, flounder... you name it. "Fly-fishing is changing. Once it was the domain of irascible old buffers in tweed suits who hunted salmon in Scotland and trout (pronounced 'trite') on Hampshire's chalk streams. To them, there were only four types of fish: salmon, trout, sea trout and others."

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Call it combat fishing, big fish hunting, or just the best it can get for steelheaders outside of the U.S. west coast, but fly fishing for Lake Erie tributary steelhead is drawing lots of anglers to Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. "'The draw is the big fish. Here, you’ll catch more big fish than anywhere else,' [Vern] Kalp said. In holes where multiple steelhead are holding up, it’s not uncommon to see more than 20 anglers fishing side-by-side. Most will gladly remove their lines from the water when a nearby angler hooks a fish." Ethan Blough in the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Tribune-Democrat.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Smith Optics just announced that their new Proof sunglasses are arriving in stores this month. According to the press release, "The Proof’s 8-base frames offer a distinctive 'wrap-style' lens curvature and a medium to large fit. Thanks to Smith Optics’ Tapered Lens Technology™ (TLT™), a precise thinning of the lens from the center to the edges, the Proof eliminates distortion commonly found in other sunglasses."

Read the full press release in the extended entry.

Every day, all day, Smith Optics Proof pairs exceptional polarized performance with dawn-to-dusk comfort

KETCHUM, IDAHO (for immediate release) – Combining easy-going wearability with superior polarized performance, the Smith Optics Proof is designed to be worn every day, all day long.

Powered by Smith’s legendary polarized lenses, which neutralize distracting glare and 100 percent of harmful UV rays, the Proof is built with premium Carbonic lenses for lightweight, impact-resistant protection.

“From the ground up, the Proof was crafted to be a seven-day frame that’s equally at home on the water, in the mountains, or on the street,” said Peter Crow, general manager for Smith’s Action Optics Polarized Collection.

The Proof’s 8-base frames offer a distinctive “wrap-style” lens curvature and a medium to large fit. Thanks to Smith Optics’ Tapered Lens Technology™ (TLT™), a precise thinning of the lens from the center to the edges, the Proof eliminates distortion commonly found in other sunglasses.

Additional features include a Grilamid TR90 frame which delivers maximum durability and comfort, a custom stainless steel logo plaque that serves up a touch of extra style, and stainless steel 5-barrel Italian hinges which compliment the premium fit and feel of the Proof. As with all Smith Optics sunglasses, the Proof is protected by a Lifetime Warranty.

The Proof is available in three frame and lens combinations including Black frames with Polarized Gray ($99); Dark Ale with Polarized Copper ($99); Stout Fade with Polarized Brown ($99).

The Proof will be available in stores by October, 2006.

ABOUT SMITH OPTICS:

Based in Sun Valley, Idaho, with a Southern California office located in San Clemente, Smith Optics, Inc. was founded in 1965 with the creation of the first goggle featuring a sealed thermal lens and breathable vent foam. Today, Smith is as well known for its diverse line of fashion and performance sunglasses as it is for its goggles. From Smith’s distortion-free Tapered Lens Technology to the versatility of the Slider Series, with its patented, interchangeable lens system, the devotion to excellence, innovation and style is what has made Smith goggles and sunglasses the choice of action-sport athletes worldwide. Smith products are sold in more than 50 countries through sporting goods and specialty stores. For more information visit www.smithoptics.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On the heels of creating the massive Great Bear Rainforest preserve along the Pacific coast, Canada announced plans for a new 13,000 preserve in the Northwest Territories. Four times the size of Yellowstone Park in the U.S., the new park protects a massive tract of land covering the transition between boreal forest and tundra. "Conservation groups are applauding the announcement. 'It is a crucible for wildlife,' said Monte Hummel, president emeritus of the Toronto, Ontario-based nonprofit WWF-Canada." Hannah Hoag on NationalGeographic.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Despite only one or two reports of fish being landed, proponents of Maine's experimental Atlantic salmon season say the effort to get folks to pay attention to salmon fishing again has paid off. "'Salmon fishing is about fishing; it’s not about catching,' said [Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission chairman Dick] Ruhlin, who has 50-plus years of salmon fishing experience. 'A dedicated salmon angler is more interested in fishing over a piece of water where there is a good probability of a fish being there and presenting a good cast.'" Kevin Miller in the Bangor Daily News.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 5:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Imagine, if you will, riding bareback across a sea of grass hunting for herds of migrating buffalo. The wind is light, the sun bright, your horse young and well-fed. You walk and canter hundreds of miles over three days, sometimes riding just to cool off. You eat well, sleep well, attend carefully to your horse and your gear, and find it easy to get up each morning before sunrise and start again.

After three days, in the later afternoon, you take aim at an animal, and you miss. That night after a long starlight ride home, aching and sore, you give your horse a thankful pat and crawl to bed. You begin dreaming of the hunt again before you are even asleep.

That's as good a description of the past three days permit fishing as I can summon after five hours of sleep. Jonathan Ain, who organizes the March Merkin permit tournament in Key West, had a handful of shots over three days -- there just weren't many fish around and my guess is that the herds were fat from grazing and hunkered down out of sight. The fish we did find were spooking at 70-foot casts, or not eating flies. (We were covered up by bonefish -- pronghorns of the flats -- from sunup to sundown, but couldn't muster enthusiasm for more than a few slappy casts.) Finally, we had a permit eat the fly eagerly yesterday, but he came unbuttoned. Even David Dalu, who joined us for day three, couldn't make the fish eat ... though he did prove that 12-foot casts are the hardest ones to make.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And we thought that the reason why fly shops shorten their hours and fewer reports appear in the fall is that fishing has slowed. No, it's because the staff is finally getting their yah-yahs out -- during the best fishing of the year. "You might have noticed that most fly shops have let the fishing reports on their Web sites slide into disrepair. With few exceptions, the reports are stuck in time: It's July or April. We should take a clue from the shop owners and fishing guides, who are all out fishing." Ed Dentry on fall Rocky Mountain trout fishing in the Denver Post.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some pretty cool photos here of Duane Hada's home waters amidst the artist talking about techniques he uses for approaching big, smart browns. "Presenting a fly in aquarium-clear, moving water to a constantly vigilant fish is no easy task. An errant throw over the top of the target typically puts the angler back on the hunt for another fish. 'When I am guiding someone who wants to do this kind of fishing, I emphasize to them that the first shot is possibly the only one you are going to get on a fish,' Hada said." Steve Brigman in the Springfield, Missouri News-Leader.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 4:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Carl Hiassen once again proved that flly rods -- in the right hands -- can be more effective than bait. Hiassen won the 40th annual Islamorada All-Tackle Bonefish Tournament in Islamorada this past week, fishing with guide Tim Klein. "Hiaasen, a popular author and 'Miami Herald' columnist, scored 17 releases and four weight fish, all caught on fly. He added one more bonefish release, caught on bait. The only other angler to have won the grand champion award on fly was Tom Richardson in 1989." Carolina Bustamante on FishingWorld.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 4:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Moc Morgan describes the action that makes the Booby fly -- adorned with large foam eyes -- such an effective pattern on Welsh and English lakes and reservoirs. "When an angler casts a line that will sink very deep in the water the booby will also be pulled down deep. Then its buoyant foam eyes will move it upwards until it is floating on top. When a very fast sinking line is retrieved the booby will be pulled down and then it will move upwards in the water when the line is slack." On ICWales.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Motoviloff, author of Fly Fisher's Guide to Wisconsin, Driftless Stories, talks about wild foods, the Remington Arms cookbook, and shopping around his new novel about a lesbian boatbuilder with David Madaris on The Isthmus Daily.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 5:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Courtesy of the River Birches lodge on the Tongoriro River on New Zealand's north island, their live river cam shows some mightly pleasant conditions on the Hydro pool for fishing for rainbow and brown trout: light southwest winds and 8.4 degree (47 degree Fahrenheit) temps. The 5-star River Birches is an example of a "boutique" lodge -- only 3 "sumptuous" rooms, but with the most modern amentiies, ljke iPod stations and Wi-Fi access. You can get more info about River Birches at their Web site.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 2:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

$240,000 is going toward more study of Alameda Creek's water flow and fish habitat, in hope that one day the classic river may return to being prime breeding water for steelhead. "According to [Jeff] Miller, Alameda Creek, the largest tributary of San Francisco Bay, may be the best place for Bay Area steelhead to live. In the 1950s urban growth in the East Bay 'adversely altered the creek's hydrology to such a degree that salmon runs disappeared and steelhead dwindled to unsustainably low numbers,' according to the Alameda Creek Alliance." In the Mercury News.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 1:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On the heels of "manspaces," Judy Wiley writes in the Fort Worth, Texas Star-Telegram about "mancations:" opportunities for guys to get together with their buddies, drink and, often, go out and kill something. She includes kayak fishing in Aransas Pass. "Because after you learn what a 'tailing' redfish looks like and catch one, something resembling buck fever will take over and you won't be able to tear yourself away, says Jennifer Thomas, who with her husband owns Slow Ride Guide Services and Kayak Rental in Aransas Pass."

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 1:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With the amount of traveling fly fishers do, it's surprising that there aren't well-publicized standards for tipping guides -- something like the $1-to-$2 per bag "rule" for airport skycaps and hotel bellmen in the U.S. But just as guides and lodges in different parts of the world charge different rates for the same services, they can also have very different expectations of what makes a fair gratuity.

MidCurrent just put together this extensive review of tipping practices at lodges and locations around the world. Read it if you're planning on doing some destination fishing this season, or even if you're just slightly puzzled when it comes to what is an acceptable gratuity for a fishing guide.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This Oregonian opinion piece about recent research into the breeding potential of hatchery raised salmon elucidates the issues and answers as well as any other article we've seen."Hatchery fish are different. Captive-raised fish don't have the instincts and other traits of wild salmon and steelhead. It's taken far too long for that truth to take hold in the Northwest. Even as recently as 2001, a federal judge ordered NOAA Fisheries to count hatchery and wild coho together when determining whether the species deserves protection under the Endangered Species Act."

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Called by Andrei Klimenko, a director at the Wild Salmon Center, an unusual "precedent" in salmon protection, local Russian government is pushing for careful management of the watersheds that shelter all 6 native species of Pacific salmon on this eastern Russian peninsula. "Encompassing nine entire rivers and 2.4 million hectares, or more than six million acres, the protected watersheds would exceed the scale of many renowned preserved areas in the United States. Together they would be more than twice the size of Yellowstone National Park in the United States." C. J. Chivers in the International Herald Tribune. (Thanks to reader Tony Lim for this link.)

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Most anglers don't associate Alabama with coldwater trout fishing, but indeed the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River provides interesting tailwater fishing below the 21,200-acre Lewis Smith Lake. "But Sipsey Fork is a somewhat dainty creek, with none of the brawling characteristics of the Cumberland River. At low water (no discharge from the dam) it was stunningly clear, surprisingly cold and blanketed with mossy, basketball-size rocks that made wading treacherous." Gary Garth in the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"'Oh yeah, there's a lot more people getting into it--carp are hot,' said Andy Kurkulis, owner of Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters Ltd. 'It's kind of hard to say how many [fly fishermen] are doing it, because there is still a perceived shame. A lot of guys don't like to talk about it.'" Charles Sheehan writes about the growing -- if not easily countable -- numbers of fly fishers who chase carp in and around U.S. cities in the Chicago Tribune.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why is that when a wife decorates an entire house according to her liking it is called "nest-building," but when a husband chooses the details of his domestic environment he is one step away from being labeled a hydrant-sniffer? Some would say -- given the design instincts of most men -- it is simply natural selection at work. But a new book by author Sam Martin touts the glories of male-crafted spaces, be they an English pub in the basement or Barry Beck's shrine to fly fishing, a picture of which you can see in this article by Marge Colburn in the Detroit News. "'There was a spare patch of ground in the backyard so I went to work,' says Martin, a former editor at This Old House and Mother Earth News. 'Five months, $3,000, a few banged-up fingernails later I had a writing space that was all mine, a place where I call the shots and control the guest list."

A great gift idea for the man who doesn't yet have everything. Manspace: A Primal Guide to Marking Your Territory (Taunton, 224 pages, October 2006) on Amazon.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hall of Fame Red Sox second baseman Bobby Doerr manages, at age 88, to spend plenty of time doing what he loves most: fly fishing the Rogue River for salmon and steelhead. This piece by Jeff Barnard in Canada's Metro News includes some poignant memories of baseball, arguing with Ted Williams, and the many days spent fishing with his old teammate: "'Bobby threatened he'd never go fishing again with Ted four or five times,' said the 89-year-old DiMaggio. 'He'd say to me, "Dommy, I was so insulted, I felt like a real small individual the way he yelled at me in the boat. I made a little noise and he jumped all over me. I caught a fish and it made a turn and I lost the fish and he gave me some more abuse. I'm quitting him." 'Ten days later they were fishing again.'"

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)